Patent EA-001688-B1 (EA)
Title: Water purifying and dispensing apparatus
Inventor: WISEBURGH PETER
IPC: B01D35/143
Filed: 1998-09-28
Abstract: 1. Apparatus for purifying water, which comprises a supporting housing (110), power means (111), an unpurified water feed (23,32) and a purified water dispense outlet (77,78), a filter (60) interposed between said inlet and said outlet, means for driving water through the filter, characterized in that said water driving means comprise means (76) for assuring the constance of the flow rate, and the apparatus further comprises means (99) for counting the time passed from the installation of the filter, means (99) for monitoring the volume of water which has flowed through the filter, and flow and usage control devices. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow and usage control devices comprise means for alerting the user when the data acquired by said counting and/or said monitoring means have reached a corresponding threshold value or any one of a plurality of successively increasing, predetermined threshold values. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow and usage control devices comprise means for automatically preventing the flow of water through the filter when the data acquired by said counting and/or said monitoring means have reached a corresponding threshold value or the highest of a plurality of successively increasing, predetermined threshold values. 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter (60) comprises depth filter layers (91,91') and microporous membrane means (92,92'). 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unpurified water feed inlet is defined in an inlet bottle holder (21), for receiving an unfiltered inlet water bottle (20); the means for driving water at a constant flow rate comprise a cylinder holder (11), on which an interchangeable gas pressure cylinder (10) can be mounted, a gas release mechanism (15), housed in the cylinder holder, a flow regulator (76), and conduit means (16,32,77) for successively connecting together the cylinder holder, the inlet bottle holder, the filter, and the flow regulator; and the filter (60) comprises a filter base (35) and an interchangeable filter unit (50) housed in the filter base; the apparatus further comprising a dispense water holder (78) and a dispense water bottle (81) for dispensing the filtered water, connected to said filter by said conduit means. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the flow regulator (76) is part of the filter unit. 7. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the flow regulator (76) is connected to an outlet of the filter unit. 8. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the interchangeable gas cylinder (10) contains carbon dioxide under pressure. 9. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inlet bottle (20) is of sufficient strength to contain a pressure of about 10 atmospheres. 10. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the cylinder holder (11) is a cylinder holder adapted to receive a gas pressure cylinder in a liquid aerating machine. 11. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gas releasing mechanism is directly controlled by the operator. 12. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the gas release mechanism is a dosing unit (62) designed to release a predetermined dose of gas from the gas cylinder, every time it is actuated. 13. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the cylinder holder has a gas outlet (16) and a gas pre-filter (17) is fitted into said gas outlet. 14. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inlet bottle holder is pivoted to the supporting structure. 15. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inlet bottle holder contains a gas inlet (22), a water outlet (23), a gas exhaust valve (26) and a safety valve (27). 16. Apparatus according to claim 5, comprising means (28) for counting the number of unfiltered water bottles inserted into the apparatus. 17. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the filter base (35) has an inlet (36) and an outlet (38) and means for causing the water to flow through the filter unit. 18. Apparatus according to claim 17, wherein an ultraviolet (UV) tube (42) is inserted between the inlet and the outlet of the filter base. 19. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the means for automatically preventing the flow of water through the filter comprise a filter shut-off mechanism. 20. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a pre-filter (17) is provided fixed to the outlet of the cylinder holder. 21. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a dip tube (24) is provided in the inlet water bottle. 22. Apparatus according to claim 216, wherein the dip tube (24) is provided at its inlet end with a filter (31). 23. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inlet bottle holder (21) is provided with an exhaust valve (26) and a safety valve (27). 24. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the inlet bottle holder (21) is provided with a counter (28) for counting the number of bottle insertions. 25. Apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the filter unit (50) comprises a number of filter elements (60), each of which comprises depth filter means (91,91') and microporous membrane means (92,92'). 26. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the filter elements are mounted on a plate (61) interposed between an upper and a lower chamber of the filter unit. 27. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow and usage control devices are electronic. 28. Apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the flow and usage control devices comprise a CPU, means for counting the time passed from a predetermined initial moment, means for measuring with a desired accuracy the volume of water that has passed through the filter, and means for producing and displaying visible signals indicating the conditions of the filter as indicated by the relationship between the counts of said counting means and the reading of said measuring means and a predetermined operating program. 29. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the flow and usage control devices further comprise means for preventing the flow of water through the filter when the counts of the counting means have reached a predetermined threshold value. 30. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the time is counted from the installation of the filter. 31. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the means for measuring the volume of water that has passed through the filter are distinct from and independent of the flow regulator. 32. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for driving the water through the filter at a constant flow rate comprise means for applying pressure to the unpurified water and means for controlling the water flow rate regardless of changes of said pressure. 33. Method for purifying water, which comprises providing a first container for unpurified water and a second container for purified water and applying pressure to the unpurified water, characterized in that it further comprises: I) driving by said pressure a predetermined, unitary volume of water from said first to said second container while flowing through filter means; II) maintaining the water flow rate at a constant predetermined value; III) dispensing said unitary volume of purified water; IV) repeating the said operations as many times as desired; V) counting the time passed from a predetermined moment; VI) monitoring the volume of water which has flowed through the filter means; and VII) changing the filter means when either said time or said water volume has reached a predetermined threshold value. 34. Method according to claim 33, which comprises driving the water from said first to said second container while flowing through depth filter means and microporous membrane means. 35. Method according to claim 33, wherein the predetermined moment is the moment of the installation of the filter means. 36. Method according to claim 33, further comprising automatically preventing the flow of water through the filter means when either the time from the predetermined moment or the water volume has reached a threshold value. 37. Method according to claim 33, further comprising establishing an operating program which includes at least a pair of threshold value, one of the time and the other of the water volume, and signaling the condition of the filter, constantly or at predetermined time intervals, to permit the user to know where said condition is situated in said operating program. 38. Method according to claim 37, wherein the operating program includes different, successively increasing pairs of threshold values of time and water volume.